Kina
Kina is the deity worshipped by the Children of Kina. She is pictured as a giant woman, with jet black skin and white eyes. Some say her skin is worn and stretched, like that of a corpse. Others say it is smooth and supple, and wondrous in its curves. Her dark hair is wild and unkempt. She has six arms and six breasts, and her mouth is full of long, sharp teeth. She is pictured topless, seated with crossed legs and arms extended. About her neck is a necklace of bone and fifty-one human skulls. In one hand she holds a ruemel, the other a skull-topped staff wove with thorns. About her waist is a belt from which dangle one-hundred and five dismembered male genitalia, worn over a ragged skirt of tiger pelt. Witnesses who have had visions of her say she carries about herself the stink of opened graves, mold, and corruption. Aspects of Kina Edit Each aspect of Kina has its own name. It carries with it a unique theology. Kina, the Mother of the Night. This is her maternal aspect, and closely tied to her fearsome appearance. She represents the two most fearsome acts- birth and death. The Children believe that all men are born in darkness, and return to the darkness. They believe that all souls come from her, and all souls return to her. She is there as a person’s mother is there, to guide, to keep safe, and to provide love and direction. The Children believe that from one’s mother comes knowledge of right and wrong. To a child, they believe, the wrath or a mother is more terrifying than the fiercest storm. Birth and death are important concepts to the Children. They believe all things, even the universe, has a mortality. Kina does not bring death, death merely is. Khaditna, the Great Deceiver. In this aspect, Kina possesses the knowledge of all souls that have come to her, for all time. This includes the knowledge from other gods and demons, as indicated in her creation myth. Into each soul she puts portions of her grand design. Those who believe they are masters of their fate, controlling the destiny of themselves and others, will find their hubris thwarted. Scholars within the community of the Children explain how Kina’s role as the guiding mother is subverted by the fear of having to make decisions on one’s own. To the Children of Kina it is essential to face her Curse, the terror of uncertainty, as willingly as they accept Blessings from her beautiful, nurturing, maternal aspect. For them, wisdom means learning that no coin has only one side: as death cannot exist without life, so life cannot exist without death. Khaditna teaches that this awareness is the only true gift one can have. Khadi, the Devourer of Souls. In this aspect Kina acts as judge upon the lives of her followers. Upon death, all souls returns to Khadi. There she judges your entire life, to see if you have lived a just and good life. If so, your soul is taken into her bosom with all the other souls until it is time for it to be reborn. If you are found wicked, or cruel, your soul is consumed by her, lost for all eternity. In this aspect, she is great and terrible to behold in her anger. She possesses the knowledge from all deceased souls, so her wrath with those she finds disfavor can be great. Mercy is not one of her traits. A soul is given only what it has earned in life. Recognition by Other Faiths Kina is acknowledged as a deity by the Doctrine of Frost. She is treated as a Great Dragon in the pantheon of the Tzaltec Dragon Cult. In Panshén Kina is treated with suspicion, although not outright condemned. Her association with night is particularly troubling for the sun-focussed worshippers of the southern and eastern Imperium. Category:Deities